Three to contend for circuit judge job

Former Alabama Chief Justice Chuck Malone is one of the three attorneys Gov. Robert Bentley will consider to fill a vacant Tuscaloosa County circuit judge position.

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Former Alabama Chief Justice Chuck Malone is one of the three attorneys Gov. Robert Bentley will consider to fill a vacant Tuscaloosa County circuit judge position.The Tuscaloosa County Judicial Commission met Monday and agreed to submit the names of Malone and private practice attorneys Allen May and Daniel Pruet for the governor’s consideration.The attorney chosen will replace Scott Donaldson. Bentley appointed Donaldson to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in January.May is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law. He served as referee for Tuscaloosa County Juvenile Court between October 2009 and February 2012. Pruet graduated from the University of Alabama and Jones School of Law. He worked as a Tuscaloosa County deputy district attorney between August 2006 and August 2011, when he began his solo practice.Malone, a UA and Cumberland School of Law graduate, practiced law in Tuscaloosa from 1981 until his election as a circuit judge in 2000 and again 2008. Bentley appointed him to serve as his chief of staff in January 2011 before appointing him chief justice in August 2011.Malone ran for a full term as chief justice, but was defeated in the March 2012 Republican primary. Roy Moore won the primary and the November general election.Presiding Circuit Court Judge Brad Almond said that the nine-member Tuscaloosa County Judicial Commission selected the three names from a pool of attorneys who submitted their resumes. Committee members considered experience, character and temperament during the selection process. The committee will meet again and submit three different names if Bentley fails to fill the position within 60 days.

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